Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Cut to $200.00 by Analysts at BTIG Research

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) had its price objective lowered by BTIG Research from $248.00 to $200.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on PANW. Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $245.00 price target (up previously from $228.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $215.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.74.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $162.76 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $182.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.44 billion, a PE ratio of 103.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.3% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,370 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto completed its acquisition of CyberArk, adding identity-security capabilities that management says strengthen its AI-era security platform — a strategic bolt-on that supports longer-term revenue and product integration potential. Palo Alto Networks Completes Acquisition of CyberArk
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is planning a dual listing on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange following the CyberArk deal — a structural move that could broaden investor access but also draws attention to regional/regulatory considerations. Cybersecurity Stock in the Spotlight Ahead of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have trimmed price targets but largely maintained buy ratings — suggesting confidence in long-term fundamentals even as near‑term valuation expectations are moderated. (Examples: Rosenblatt, BTIG, DA Davidson cut PTs while keeping buy ratings.) Rosenblatt Adjusts PT to $225
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms lowered their price targets this week (BTIG from $248→$200, DA Davidson $240→$210, Rosenblatt $250→$225), which puts downward pressure on the stock despite buy ratings — investors view the cuts as reduced near‑term upside. BTIG Price Target Lowered
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports Palo Alto chose not to explicitly attribute a recent global cyberespionage campaign to China out of concern for possible retaliation — a disclosure/PR judgment that raises geopolitical and client-risk concerns and may weigh on sentiment. Palo Alto chose not to tie China to hacking campaign
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary noted PANW falling more steeply than the broader market and cited the dual-listing/merger headlines as drivers of the weakness; trading volume is elevated, indicating active repositioning by investors. Palo Alto Networks Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.